Vermont, the pastoral New England get-away renowned for its ski slopes, mountains and lush countryside, was left in tatters after the remnants of Hurricane Irene caused devastating floods, interrupted telecommunications and knocked out power to thousands.

The storm prompted Gov. Peter Shumlin to order all non-essential state workers to stay home while the Green Mountain state mops up Irene's mess. Shumlin, who declared the flooding to be the worst in more than 100 years, was expected to tour the state by helicopter on Monday to assess the damage, which devastated sections of southern Vermont bordering Western Massachusetts.

State officials had been bracing for the worst before the storm and, for the most part, they got it: Sections of southern Vermont, including the greater Brattleboro and Bennington areas, were lashed by torrential rains that washed out roads, shut down bridges and forced the evacuation of hundreds from low-lying areas.

The Whetstone Brook turned into a raging torrent of muddy water as it spilled into the Connecticut River and closed downtown Brattleboro on Sunday, according to the Brattleboro Reformer.

"This has been a devastating event that is going to affect every single community in Vermont," Shumlin told the newspaper for its Monday edition.

The governor said stories being relayed to him from around the state were "unbelievable," and his top priority is ensuring residents are safe.

"We will get through this, but it looks like it's going to take time to clean up," he told The Reformer.

The southwestern corner of the state didn't fair much better, including the collapse of a 15-foot span over the Roaring Branch River on Route 9 late Sunday afternoon.

Nelson Blanchard, district transportation administrator for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, said the road -- a main route leading to Bennington -- would be closed indefinitely.

"We've got so much damage. We'll have to come up with some sort of temporary bridge, Blanchard told The Bennington Banner.

Dozens of roads and bridges across southern Vermont sustained significant damage from the after effect of Hurricane Irene, which was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit Vermont.

At the height of the storm, more than 17,000 residents in Bennington and Windham counties in southern Vermont were without power.

"I've been through a lot of these events in my career, (but I have) never been through one like this," Blanchard told The Banner.

As of 7 a.m. Monday, more than 37,000 customers of Central Vermont Public Service Corp. (CVPS) remained without power, according to the Associated Press, citing utility officials who said it could be weeks before service is fully restored.

CVPS Vice President Joe Kraus characterized the crisis as "uncharted territory," telling the AP that half a dozen power substations were submerged in flood waters.

Kraus said CVPS imported work crews from as far away as Illinois, but, in many instances, power restoration efforts have been stymied by washed out roads or other storm-related damage. In some cases, utility crews became trapped and wound up spending the night with customers, the AP reported.

The southern part of the state didn't corner the market on storm-related destruction.

According to the Burlington Free Press, raging stormwater also surged through the central Vermont communities of Waitsfield, Waterbury and Montpelier, the state capital, and in Brandon in western Vermont.

The storm hit the southern part of the state first, quickly revealing widespread damage. However, officials had yet to assess damage in other affected areas by Monday morning.

Irene interrupted or knocked out telephone service to around 3,700 people, most of whom had limited service by Monday. Crews were working to restore service, but impassable roads were again hampering those efforts.

The storm forced the evacuation of hundreds of Vermonters from their homes in low-lying areas near swollen rivers and streams, many of which were transformed into raging rivers that overflowed their banks and washed out roadways.

The AP reported that a 141-year-old covered bridge in Rockingham was swept away by the roiling, muddy Williams River, while an empty car was seen bobbing down a river in Bennington.

"It's pretty fierce. I've never seen anything like it," Michelle Guevin told the AP, speaking to a reporter at a Brattleboro restaurant after fleeing her home in nearby Newfane.

Guevin said the fast-moving Rock River had washed out the road leading to
her house.

Material from the Associated Press, Bennington Banner, Brattleboro Reformer and Burlington Free Press was used in this report.